Note: before I get into this post, let me state that I am far from an expert on what is considered a socially or religiously acceptable custom in certain parts of the world, especially Asia.
Sooooo back in June an elderly Chinese woman threw some coins into a China Southern flight’s engine as she was boarding. A devout Buddhist, the 80-year old told authorities (as she was being arrested) that she threw the coins towards the engine to ensure her good fortune and safety on the flight. She ultimately avoided prosection due to her age.
Wellllll it happened again.
Lucky Air jet (Source: Wiki Commons)
According to Channel News, another elderly lady tossed some coins towards a Lucky Air jet engine during the boarding process in hopes of a safe flight. The flight was set to depart from Anqing. Ground crew found coins on the tarmac after passengers reported the ritual to airline employees.
Lucky Air ended up grounding the flight overnight as a precaution and sent the passengers on another flight.
Crazy story, for sure, especially that it happened on two separate occasions on different airlines. As I mentioned above, I’m certainly no expert on Chinese or Buddhist customs but hopefully something can be done to help folks understand that this act could in fact be very dangerous.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen someone do during the boarding process? Tell me in the comments below!
Interesting – I didn’t know coins could do that much damage. What happens on windy days where debris gets picked up by the wind? And, I guess they never fly during hailstorms?
A superb question. Small birds get sucked into engines all the time with no apparent harm.
Sucking in a goose will ground a plane. My dad was a pilot and had to emergency land a few because of such birds, especially in the northern US states. It will also make the cabin smell HORRIBLE because cabin air is pulled off the engines.
No, you’ve got it wrong. In fact, tossing coin bodes for MISfortune. As a safety precaution against any unfortunate incident, aka bad luck (wink wink MH), the Chinese fengshui masters therefore advised CAA to ground the flight.
Small objects can damage engines, it is called FOD or foreign object damage, or debris depending on who you ask. Tarmacs and runways are regularly cleared of debris down to small rocks and rubber from tires. Jet engines turn so fast that even a small chip in a blade can cause a chain reaction through the rest of the blades resulting in complete failure.
That’s why I stick with US airlines.
@Christian Small birds and sticks etc are much softer than coins.
Ummm…shit for brains airlines for not policing this? The average Chinese traveler is in the the late, iron age.
That is the reason I stay with US airlines.